Bundesliga

Arsenal central defender Johan Djorou has joined Honnover 96 on loan until the end of the season. The 25 year old Swiss international has only played 2 games this season for Arsenal; He was the captain against Coventry and Reading in the Capital One League Cup. Djorou has featured for the North London Club 144 times since making his debut in2004. He went on loan to Birmingham during the 2007/08 season where he played 13 games. Djorou has had limited first team games mostly due to injuries. He has been capped 30 times by Switzerland and featured in the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.

The 25-year-old has a contract at the London club until 2015 but has fallen out of favour with Arsène Wenger, with Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen all preferred to him this year. Djorou would be a very good addition to the defence line of the mid table club. The Bundesliga's club coach, Mirko Slomka, has also welcomed the move, praising Djourou's "physical robustness, his tactical understanding and his high level of commitment.

As it is now becoming the custom for German clubs, Borrusia Monchengladbach are pitching their tent in Dubai. The Foals are taking advantage of the nice whether to prepare for the second half of the season and away from the cold and icy condition back home. The German top side end the first half of the season by drawing on the road against current league leaders Bayern Munich. In addition to their mid season preparation, they have also taken up ambassadorial role on behalf of DFL Deutsche Football Ligue, helping to further increase the profile of then Bundesliga in the middle East.

Dubai just like Qatar has been seen as an ideal location during the winter break, the temperature is expected to be between 20 and 26 degrees Celsius. However the team doctor Stefan Herti advised that the players have to ensure that they take 2-3 litres of water daily in other to avoid muscular problems.

The current league leader Bayern Munich end festivities and pitched their camp in Doha, Qatar for intensive week long training ahead of the second half of the season. The Christmas has not affect the Bavarians, though with 9 points gap they are out in the best preparation to ensure that they have successful end .Manuel Nuer pointed to the fact that the sense of togetherness within the team was the key factor in their trailblazing first half of the season. In other developments, Bayern Munich has completed signing FSV Mainz 05 defender Jan Kirchhoff. His contract with Mainz end this season, therefore making him a free agent

The German League has witness an influx of Japanese player after the World Cup. Such is their rise in stock that it has become a shopping centre German football clubs. Germany is fast becoming a hub for Japanese football players – a kind of stop gap scenario before moving any other European clubs. Shinji Kangawa is the most recent success stories. Part of the Borrusia Dortmund‘s recent back to back winning of the league title. Quite surprising he did not make the World Cup but his exploits with Dortmund has led to the influx of Japanese players in the league. The romance between the 2 countries did not just start. It all started way back in 1977; Yasuhiro Okudera was the first Japanese to taste the experience of the Bundesliga.He played for FC Cologne and was part of the team that reached the Semi Finals in 1979. He scored against eventual winners - Nottingham Forest. He later went on to player for Hetha Berlin and Werder Bremen.

The European competition enters into the knockout stage next year and it could be described as relatively favourable to the German representatives. From a positive angle, all the German team progressed into the knockout stage for the UEFA Champions League . Current leaders Bayern Munich, last season league champions Borrusia Dortmund and Shalke FC all topped their respective groups and progressed to the next round. This is welcoming as this would improve their coefficient in Europe (4 representatives in Champions League).All teams have been hand a good draw and will for once fancy their chances, more so because all the German teams were the group leaders they will play the first leg away.